Nicholas I, Monument to

Categories / Architecture/Sculpture, Monuments
NICHOLAS I, MONUMENT TO. Work of monumental art in the Historical style; also an example of the Neo-Baroque style. Opened on 25 June 1859, on St. Isaac's Square. The project, designed by A.A. Montferrand, was approved in May 1856. The architects participating in the creation of the monument were N.E. Efimov, A.A. Poireau, and M.G. Evreinov. The multi-tiered pedestal is assembled of 118 blocks made from Finnish and Serdobolsk granite, porphyry from Shoksha and white Italian marble. The equestrian statue (which has only two points of support) was cast of bronze by the creator of the model, P.K. Klodt. The bas-reliefs on the pedestal are called, "14th of December, 1825, the Emergence of Nicholas I on Sennaya Square during the Cholera Riots of 1831"; "Opening of the Bridge on Nikolaevskaya Railroad in 1851 (sculptor N.A. Ramazanov); and "Approval of the Code of Laws of 1832" (sculptor R.K. Zaleman, who also executed the allegorical sculptures "Justice, Force, Wisdom and Faith"). All the portrait faces show some similarity to Empress Alexandra Fedorovna and Nicholas I's daughters, Maria, Olga and Alexandra. The bronze fence (1860, architect L.L. Bonstedt) was dismantled in 1940, and reassembled in 1992 at the Monumental Sculpture Factory. The monument's height is 16.3 metres.

References: Калинин Б. Н., Юревич П. П. Памятники и мемориальные доски Ленинграда: Справ. 3-е изд., доп. и перераб. Л., 1979; Монументальная и декоративная скульптура Ленинграда / Сост. Е. В. Плюхин, А. Г. Раскин. Л., 1991.

Y. M. Piryutko. Alexandra Fedorovna, Empress
Alexandra Nikolaevna, Grand Princess
Bonstedt Lyubim (Ludwig) Lyubimovich
Efimov Nikolay Efimovich
Evreinov M.G.
Klodt von Jurgensburg Peter Karlovich
Maria Nikolaevna, Grand Princess
Montferrand Auguste Augustovich (Henri Louis Auguste Leger Ricard de)
Olga Nikolaevna, Grand Princess, Queen
Poireau Auguste Antonovich
Ramazanov Nikolay Alexandrovich
Zaleman Robert Karlovich
St.Isaac's Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Калинин Б. Н., Юревич П. П. Памятники и мемориальные доски Ленинграда: Справ. 3-е изд., доп. и перераб. Л., 1979
Монументальная и декоративная скульптура Ленинграда / Сост. Е. В. Плюхин, А. Г. Раскин. Л., 1991 1859